Railway-crossing gate.



H. J. RIGHBNDRPER.

RAILWAY CROSSING GATE.

APPLIOATION IILBD JUNE 29, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

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H. J. RIGHENDRFER. RAILWAY onossme GATE.

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RAILWAY-CROSSING GATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1909.

Application filed June 29, 1909. Serial No. 505,019.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. RIcHnN- DRFER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lime Ridge, in the county of Columbia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Relatingto Railway-Crossing Gates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway crossing gates, and one of theprincipal objects of the same is to provide reliable and efiicient meansfor closing the gate, said means being rendered operative by the wheelsof the 10- comotive or cars and means being provided for raising thegate after the train has passed over the crossing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counterbalanced gate andmeans operated by the passing train for lowering said gate and raisingthe same after the train has passed. v

Still another object of the invention is to provide a counterbalancedweight and means for operating the same by the movement of the train,said gate being cushioned in its movement by a dash-pot.

Another object of the invention is to provide a counterbalanced weighthaving means for raising and lowering the same operated by the passingtrain and a platform in line with the crossing, said platform beingmounted on levers which are moved when a person steps upon the platformto stop the movement of the gate, said platform being thrown back to itsinitial position by springs after the person has stepped off theplatform to permit the gate to fall.

These and other objects may be attained by means of the constructionillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway cross ing gate and mechanism foroperating the same made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a topplan view of the mechanism for operating the platform, the latter beingremoved. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the platform taken onthe line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.Fig. 4 is a sectional view of. the housing for the operative mechanism,the gate being shown in closed position. Fig. 5 is a similar View,showing the gate in open position. Fig. 6 is a sectional view, showingthe trigger, the lever and the contact point, the latter within a box atthe side of the track, said box containing the terminals of theconductors which lead to the electro-magnets for releasing the mechanismto permit the gate to drop.

eferring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the track rails; 2,the ties on which said rails are mounted, and 3, the crossing. A lever 1provided with an upstanding arm 5 is pivotally mounted in a sleeve (3underneath one of the track rails 1 at some distance to one side of thecrossing 3. The lever 1 has an outwardly projecting arm 7, and pivotedto the outer end of said arm 7 is a stem 8 which extends through a boxor casing 9 and is provided on its lower end with a contact shoe 10. Thebox 9 is preferably placed under the ground or with its top projectingslightly above the surface of the ground. Binding posts 11 holdconductors 12 and 12 in contact with a coil 13 disposed underneath thecontact shoe 10. The conductors 12 and 12 are led out through the box 9,said conductor 12 leading to a battery 14 and from thence into a housing15 at a point near one side of the crossing where it is connected to anelectro magnet 16. The other conductor 12 is led through the housing 17and leads to the electro-magnet 16 The electro-magnets are supportedupon an insulated base 18 in the housing 15. An armature 19 is pivotallyconnected upon the end of a lever 20, said lever being pivoted at 21 inthe housing, and connected to said lever 21 is a chain or link 22attached to a pawl 23 pivoted to the housing. The pawl 23 normallyengages a notched disk or cam 24 mounted on a shaft 25 pivoted in thehousing 15. Carried by the shaft 25 is a wheel 26 having a crank arm 27'projecting therefrom. Pivotallv connected to the arm 2? is a link 28,said link being pivoted at its opposite end to a weight lever 29, saidweight lever being pivoted at 30 to a bracket suspended from the innerwall of the housing and said lever 29 carrying a counterweight 31 nearone end. The opposite end of the lever 29 has connected to it a link 32,and a weight 33 is connected to the upper end of said link, said weightbeing mounted in a casing 84 secured to the housing 15 immediately abovean opening in the top of said housing. Pivoted to the upper side of theweight 33 is a connecting rod 35, the upper end of said connecting rodbeing pivoted to a two armed lever 36, said lever being mounted upon asquared shaft 37 journaled in a metal dome or hood 38 provided with ahinged door 39 to permit access to said dome. Pivotally connected to theopposite end of the lever 36 is a plunger rod 40 carrying a piston headat its lower end, said piston head working in a dash pot or cylinder 11partially filled with oil or other cushioning material, said cylinderbeing connected to a shaft 42 pivoted in the dome 38. The connecting rod35 extends through a slot 3 1 in the casing.

Mounted on the shaft 37 is a large gear wheel 43 which meshes with apinion 14: on a shaft 45 journaled in the head or dome. Fixed on theshaft 45 is a gate 46, and secured to the shaft 15 is a ratchet wheel47.

Pivotally mounted on one of the ties 2 at the side of one of the trackrails 1 is a curved bar 48 adapted to be operated by the passing train,and connected to said bar is a rod 19 pivoted at 50 to a two-armed lever51 pivoted at 52 on one of the ties. Connected to the lever 51 is a rod53, and pivotally connected to the rod 53 is a member 5 1 leading intothe housing and pivotally connected to its inner end to a lever 5journaled in hangers 6*, said lever having crank portions 7 a at itsopposite ends, one of said crank portions being connected to the member54, and connected to the crank at the opposite end is a link 8 said linkengaging a finger 9 on the end of the lever 29.

The lever 55 is pivoted at nearly a cent all point, as at 56, to a block57 secured between two of the tics 2. A spring 58 secured to the tie atone end and connected to the bar 48 at the other end exerts its tensionto throw the bar toward the rail and to return the parts to theirinitial position after it has been operated by the wheels of the passingtrain. A platform 59 extending between the tracks at the crossing 3 isprovided with integral ribs 60 underneath the same, said ribs beingslotted at 61 at their outer ends. Crank members 62 are mounted inbearings 63 secured to the ties 2, and the end cranks of the members 62are passed through the slots 61 in the ribs 60, said crank portionsbeing held in place by means of pins 64:. Pivotally connected to thelever 55 at opposite sides of its pivotal point are the arms 65, saidarms being connected at their outer ends to the crank members 62, asshown more )articularl Y in Fi 2 of the drawin For returning the lever55 to its original position after operation, springs 66 are provided,said springs surrounding the bars 67, said bars extending throughsuitable brackets 68 secured to the ties, and said springs beingdisposed between said brackets. Connected to one end of the lever 55 isa rod 69, said rod extending through the casing and connected at itsinner end to a double crank 70 mounted in bearings 71. Connected to oneof the arms of the crank 70 is a rod 72, the upper end of which isattached to a pawl 73 having an angular arm 74, said pawl be ing mountedon a shaft 75 pivoted in the dome. The upper end of the pawl 73 isprovided with a beveled finger 76 which c11- gages the ratchet 47 whenthe platform 59 is depressed.

The operation of my invention may be briefly described as follows:-1Vhen a train is coming from the left in Fig. 1, one of the wheelsstrikes the member 5 which throws the contact shoe 10 down upon theupper spring coil 13 to press it into contact with the lower coil toclose the circuit, thus energizing the magnets 16, 16 and attracting thearmature 19, and thus lifting the pawl 23 and permitting the weight 31to drop and the counterbalanced gate 16 to drop to its lowermostposition. As the cars pass over the bar 4:8 the lever 54 is operated tomove the crank shaft 5 to lift the weight 31 and to restore the parts totheir initial position, a spring a serving to return the arm 5 to itsoriginal position to lift the shoe 10 from contact with the coil 13 andthus break the circuit. During the time that the gate is falling to ahorizontal position should any person or a team start to cross and getupon the platform 59, the weight on the platform would operate the crankshaft 62 and the lever 55, and through said lever 55 and the rod 69, thepawl 73 will be thrown against the ratchet wheel 47 to stop the progressof movement of the gate until after the weight is removed from theplatform 59.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that a gate operated by mechanismsubstantially as described will be automatic in action, reliable in useand not liable to get out of order.

I claim 1. In a railway crossing gate, the combination of a pivotedgate, means for holding said gate in vertical position, electrical meansfor releasing said holding means, a platform mounted at the crossingbetween the tracks, and means operated by said platform to stop themovement of the gate when weight is placed thereon.

2. A railway crossing gate comprising a housing, a dome mounted 011 thehousing, a gate pivoted in the dome, gearing in the dome actuated by themovements of the gate, a two armed lever actuated by the movements ofthe gate, a rod connected to one arm of said lever for actuating aplunger mounted in a dash-pot, a rod connected to the other arm of saidlever, a weight connected to said rod, a lever mounted in the housingand connected to said weight, a counterweight connected to said lever,and means operated by the passing train for raising said counterweightand restoring the mechanism to its initial position.

3. A railway crossing gate comprising a pivoted gate, means forcounterbalancing said gate, means for locking said gate in a verticalposition, electrical means actuated by the passing train for releasingthe means for holding the gate in vertical position, a platform mountedbetween the tracks at the crossing, and means actuated by the platformwhen depressed for stopping the movement of the gate during its descent.

l. A railway crossing gate comprising a counterbalanced gate, means forholding said gate in vertical position, electrical means adapted to beactuated by a passing train for releasing said means, a platform mountedbetween the tracks at the crossing, and connections between saidplatform and gate, whereby the latter is stopped during its descent whenthe platform is depressed.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY J. RICHENDRFER.

Witnesses EUGENE SWEENEY, JOHN H. :KAHLEY.

